Go, or Go Ahead
by Stef
Summary: -RanxKen, BradxSchu, past YohjixRan- Post Glühen, Weiß Side B -Chapter 13 Added- After an alarming Vision, Crawford and Schuldig figure out their complicated "relationship". ON HIATUS.
1. Thank you for this bitter knowledge

**Title:** Go, or Go Ahead  
**Author:** Stef  
**Summary:** Post-Glühen Weiß Side B fic. [Ken/Ran, Crawford/Schuldig, Nagi/Aya-chan, Mamoru/Aya-chan, Free/Michel (more to be added)] Thank you for this bitter knowledge, guardian angels who left me stranded. It was worth it, feeling abandoned. Makes one hardened, but what has happened to love? [Chapter 1 is up.]  
**Spoilers:** Everything.  
**Rating:** R   
**Notes:** This is the fic that will eat up my life, I imagine. I started it ages ago, under a different title, "Finale". I had even forgotten about it for a while, but it decided- as fics often do- to resurrect it self. So here it is, all nicely polished and improved.   
  
_"Omi..."  
  
"Siberian, do it now!"  
  
"But I-"  
  
"Before he lapses again! Do it now!"  
  
Ken looked at Knight, the handsome blonde cradling Ran's unconscious body. He then stared down at the face of the young man who was once his former employer, ex-teammate, and best friend.  
  
Blood was caked in Persia's silvery hair; an unusual color, given his age. His navy trenchcoat had slashes, rents and rips in it, delivered from expertly sharpened weapons."Ken-kun, please. End it." Mamoru pleaded, tears threatening to fall from his large blue eyes.  
  
"Omi, I'm sorry."  
  
The younger man nodded and closed his eyes, anticipating the final blow of their fight. It was pointless to try and defend against something that he wanted as well. With a tortured growl, Ken raised his bugnuks before burying them into Mamoru's chest. Blood seeped through the head of Kritiker's suit, quickly spreading across his torso. He smiled, blood beginning to drip from the corner of his mouth. He wanted to thank Ken, but no sound left his mouth. A peaceful expression on his face, Mamoru closed his eyes.  
  
Ken choked back a sob and dropped to his knees.  
  
Mamoru Takatori was dead. It was over._  
  
===  
  
Aya Fujimiya fought with herself to keep awake as her professor rattled the lecture on in even, coma-inducing tones. 'Been there, done that,' She thought sleepily. Looking around at the sleeping students, she could see she wasn't the only one to fall victim to the professor's utterly captivating lesson. In a last ditch effort to remain conscious Aya dug her pen cap into her palm. It hurt, sure, but the slight pain kept her alert.  
  
"So do I have any volunteers? Anyone?"   
  
In her struggle to remain awake, Aya hadn't been able to keep her attention on the lecture. 'Please don't call me… please don't call me…' She thought desperately, studying the small, circular red mark forming on her pale hand.  
  
"Fujimiya."  
  
Correcting her posture and pushing her dark bangs out of her royal purple eyes, Aya tried to look like she had been paying attention. "Yes, professor?"  
  
"You would be the perfect candidate for this little project. I want a five-page paper on nursing in an ICU environment. You will be assigned to shadow a nurse at the Magic Bus hospital for a week. I want the paper on the twenty-seventh."  
  
'Fucking Hell mother shit eating bastard!' She screamed mentally. Plastering a not-even-close-to-sincere grin on her face, Aya nodded. "Understood, sir."  
  
===  
  
A low voice crackled over a comm. unit. "She's moving."  
  
"Acknowledged. Keep her in sight." Nagi Naoe replied.  
  
He really hated being on this college campus, Nagi decided. There were far too many people, and human interaction was never really his strongest suit. A job is a job, however; and Aya Fujimiya was his job. Checking his itinerary, Nagi noted that Aya was heading to the library to study, then to her dorm for the rest of the night. He had her routine down so thoroughly that he could follow the girl in his sleep.   
  
'Sleep,' Nagi thought; that was something he hadn't quite gotten enough of since he was assigned to this particular target. He supposed it made sense in Aya's case. Were he in a coma for over two years, Nagi didn't think he'd want to sleep much either. So Nagi made fast friends with the coffee maker in the dorm room where he was currently situated, posing as a student.   
  
Nagi imagined his former co-workers had infinitely more exciting jobs. He hadn't seen Crawford or Schuldig since that run-in with Rosenkreuz. He didn't exactly miss them, but sometimes he wondered if they were even still alive. 'They must be,' he thought. 'If they can make it out of a building collapsing on itself into the ocean, they could certainly make it out of a fire… right?'  
  
The cracking noise of the comm. unit took Nagi from his thoughts. "She's moving again."  
  
"Location?" Nagi asked.  
  
"She seems to be heading towards the dorms."  
  
"Keep your eyes on her until she gets inside. I'll be by to relieve you soon."  
  
"Roger that."  
  
"Goodnight, Aya-chan," Nagi said as he stood up and headed for the door.   
  
===  
  
"Angora is moving out."  
  
"Good," said the figure at the desk. "And the target?"  
  
"In her dorm room, sir."  
  
Mamoru Takatori nodded, pleased with the results. Running the organization known as Kritiker had proved to be tough, and he still hadn't quite gotten the gist of things, but when things went right, they were very right. Missions he sent his agents on these days involved less killing, though Kritiker still had lethal units. "Have Angora set up a video feed. I want her dorm under visual surveillance."  
  
"The room and phone are already bugged, Persia, sir."  
  
Mamoru's eyes narrowed slightly. "Maybe you didn't understand me the first time."  
  
His subordinate, a tall and professional-looking woman looked incredulously at him. Persia had never taken this sort of tone before. Something seemed off. Deciding not to question him further, she followed through with his orders. "Angora's received orders, sir."  
  
Mamoru seemed placated. "That's better." He leaned back in his leather chair and opened the link set up to observe the target. He placed his hand on the computer screen with the sleeping girl's delicate features on it. "Goodnight, Aya-chan," he said quietly.  
  
===  
  
Two men sat at a small table outside of a coffee shop in Seattle. Neither of them uttered a word. They seemed an odd pair to be sharing an afternoon coffee; the taller one, with his clean-cut appearance and no nonsense attitude, and his companion with his shocking head of tawny hair and laid-back demeanor.   
  
The red head smirked. He was a telepath, calling himself 'Schuldig'. It meant "guilty" in his native tongue. Why he called himself such a thing was anyone's guess; and Schuldig liked to make people guess. He viewed everything as a game, and people as his playthings.  
  
His counterpart seemed irritated. For the first time since they sat down, he spoke, "What do you find so entertaining?"   
  
Schuldig reached across the small table and grabbed the older man's coffee, and with a wink, he drank some of it. 'Black. Leave it to Brad,' he thought. Having long finished his own drink, he resorted to taking an occasional sip from the other man's. "I feel a bit antsy, and the most wonderful idea popped into my fucked up little head." He replied, eyeing the dark haired man sitting across from him. Purposefully, he ran his finger along the rim of the coffee cup.  
  
The tall man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He already knew Schuldig wanted to shoot the woman who had been eyeing him since they sat down, right out here on the sidewalk where everyone could see. He saw this unfold two days ago in a Vision. Bradley Crawford was a precognitive. "Don't, Schuldig." It wasn't a request.  
  
"I didn't even tell you what I wanted to do." Schuldig complained, shoving the coffee away. 'Bitch keeps looking at you.'   
  
"I said 'don't'." Crawford's voice took on a threatening edge.   
  
The younger man folded his arms and slouched in his seat, almost looking as if he could slide right onto the ground with the fluidity of his movements. Even while sulking, the telepath had a near inhuman grace to him. "You never let me have fun anymore, Bradley. You must've skipped over turning thirty and went right to fucking eighty."   
  
Crawford's eyes narrowed. This was a challenge if he ever heard one. "Get up."  
  
Confused blue eyes stared back at him. "What?"  
  
Standing up, he said it again, "Get. Up." Crawford hated to repeat himself. He began to walk away.  
  
In an instant, Schuldig was shaking. As Crawford got further away, a torrent of voices entered the telepath's head, thoughts that weren't his own. "Where the Hell are you going?"   
  
"You can follow me if you like." Crawford said simply. He knew Schuldig would get up and all but run to him.  
  
Which he did. "Asshole. You know I fucking hate it when you do that." Schuldig rubbed at his temples as the thoughts of those around him began to deaden.  
  
Crawford smirked. Everything was a game to him, as well. And he enjoyed winning.  
  
As the pair walked, Crawford pulled his gun from its holster and shot the woman who'd been not - so - discreetly checking him out. No one else noticed, as the silencer was on. 'Feel better, Schuldig?'  
  
Schuldig smiled. He did feel better  
  
===  
  
Ken hated airplanes. Having to dress like a stewardess once before might have had something to do with it, but he also hated flying because of the sheer boredom of it. All he could do is sit in his seat and watch "My Best Friend's Wedding" for the seventh time, read, or stare out the window. Out of these options, Ken couldn't decide which was the worst; he hated to watch films in English (it's not his best language, after all), not very many books could hold his interest, and if he looked out the window, he was liable to either get sick or freak out. So he nudged the passenger seated beside him. Again.  
  
The blonde Kriptonbrand member called Chloe looked up from his book at his partner. "What do you want now, Ken?" He'd been on the same page for the past twenty minutes. Ken was really trying his already paper-thin patience.  
  
The brunette tried his best to look apologetic. "I'm bored. Wanna talk?"  
  
"I want to read, but I doubt that is going to happen, seated next to you, so sure. Let's talk." Chloe closed his book loudly and set it in his lap. Taking off his reading glasses, he looked at Ken. "What," he all but bit out, "would you like to talk about?"  
  
Ken paused. "I dunno."  
  
"…"  
  
Seated a few rows behind his teammates, a boy with dark hair and glasses sat, playing his Game Boy with the sound turned all the way down. He only moved slightly when he avoided a book behind hurled in his direction. Ken and Chloe were having yet another fight, he supposed, judging from the shouting and flying objects. "How you were able to deal with him on a daily basis is beyond me." Yuki said, looking across the aisle at Ran. The redheaded assassin seemed engrossed with the Julia Roberts in-flight movie.  
  
Tearing his attention from the film, Ran shrugged, non-committal. "You get used to Ken after a while."  
  
Yuki frowned. He wasn't sure he'd ever be used to the hotheaded Japanese man. He'd never see someone fly off the handle as much as Ken did. Plus there was the fact that Ken and Ran spent a lot of time together. They may have worked together in the past, but mere co-workers don't look at each other the way that they do. The lingering touches were a clue, too. And the time he accidentally spied on them having sex. Yes, Yuki had a tiny crush on Ran. Big deal. Yuki frowned.  
  
Ran arched an eyebrow at the boy. "Are you feeling alright?"  
  
"Yeah." Yuki said quietly.   
  
It was at that moment that Ran had decided to separate Ken and Chloe. The rose that managed to lodge itself in his armrest may or may not have had something to do with it.  
  
Yuki sighed. It was going to be a long flight back to England.  
  
===  
  
The hospital lobby was quiet, except for the muted tones of the phone ringing every few moments. The building smelled of disinfectants and carpet cleaner. Aya approached the desk and waited for the receptionist to notice her. The woman looked up at the young girl and held a finger up at her, indicating her to wait a moment. Aya found this gesture to be a bit rude, but decided not to say anything. When the woman was finally off of the phone, she looked at Aya, uninterested. "What can I help you with?" she asked. Clearly, she didn't want to be here today.  
  
Aya pulled out a card. "I'm supposed to be shadowing someone named," she squinted, looking at the card. She had needed glasses for some time, but didn't want to bother Ran with telling him. "Asuka Itou," she finished. "I'm doing a research paper on nursing and I-"  
  
The receptionist paged Asuka to the lobby before Aya could finish talking. A few minutes later, a nurse with long black hair and friendly brown eyes approached Aya.   
  
"Are you Aya Fujimiya?" She asked politely. Aya nodded. "I'm Asuka Itou, you'll be following me around for a bit. Let me first give you a tour of the hospital, then we can take things from there."  
  
Aya smiled. At least the nurse was nice.   
  
===  
  
Nagi couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed. Disguised as an orderly, he blended in perfectly in the large hospital's sterile hallways. From his vantage point, he could watch Aya carefully as she shadowed Nurse Itou. By all means, he should have been practically invisible… however, it seemed like someone was watching him.  
  
'That can't be, though,' he thought. 'I was more than careful in making sure no one knew I was following her today.'  
  
He hadn't been assigned a mission since last night, and Nagi was starting to worry. Usually, he was assigned to Aya around the clock, but this morning, things seemed off…  
  
_"Angora reporting for duty, Persia, sir." Nagi said, upon entering the office of Mamoru Takatori.  
  
Mamoru looked up from the files on his desk and smiled slightly at the telekinetic. "Angora, I didn't hear you come in." The Kritiker head put the files aside and folded his hands neatly on the desk. "I called you in here to let you know that plans have changed. I'll be having a different agent monitor Aya Fujimiya from now on. You're temporarily relieved of your duties."  
  
Nagi was stunned. "Sir?" He couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. "Is there any reason why I am being retracted from this mission?"  
  
Persia heaved a sigh. "Angora," he started, "here in Kritiker, it is important for our agents to have no ties to the outside world. You're legally dead, remember?"  
  
Nagi nodded.   
  
"Along with not existing in the outside world, you can't have personal ties to any mission you've been assigned to." Mamoru continued. "It's been brought to my attention that you've become somewhat attached to Aya Fujimiya. Therefore, I am removing you from the surveillance mission. It wouldn't do to have you watching over her, feeling as you do."  
  
Nagi wanted to deny it, but he couldn't. "I… I see." It seemed like a bad cliché to him, all of a sudden; falling for the girl he was assigned to protect. "My new mission, then?"  
  
Mamoru briefly looked through the files on his desk. "Well, at the present time, I have nothing for an agent of your caliber. Why don't you take a short vacation?"  
  
"You're sure, sir?"  
  
Mamoru nodded. "You will be notified when you need to return to service, Angora. You are dismissed."  
  
Nagi bowed and left the office…_  
  
Mission or not, Nagi wanted to know Aya was safe. Whoever had been assigned to her couldn't possibly replace him. 'I'm the best agent in the damn organization,' he thought bitterly. Something was wrong.  
  
He felt cold metal pressed against the back of his neck.  
  
"Don't you fucking move."  
  
His suspicions confirmed, Nagi complied.  
  
===  
  
After an excruciating 10-hour flight, the six members of Kriptonbrand climbed out of the taxi-van and unlocked the doors to the Kitten's House flower shop.  
  
"You have gotta be shitting me." Ken said quietly, looking over the shop's interior. He rushed downstairs.  
  
Potted plants were smashed all over the linoleum floor, the scent of dead flowers lingered in the air, and there was broken glass where display cases used to be. The assassin team carefully surveyed the area.  
  
"There's blood on the floor here." Free said quietly, knelt down beside the counter. He held an arm out protectively near Michel, not wanting the boy to step in it.  
  
Chloe looked up from where he was standing, near the smashed plants. "You can tell from the prints here in the soil that there was definitely a struggle, see?" Sure enough, there were scuffle marks in the soil. He went around the back to the stairs that lead upstairs to the apartment they all shared.  
  
Michel squeaked. Where he stood, at one of the arrangement tables, there were strands of hair. "I only know one person with hair like this," he said worriedly.  
  
"Mihirogi…" Ran said quietly, examining the hair from over Michel's shoulder.  
  
Chloe rushed down the stairs, expression worried. He nearly collided with Ken, who was on his way up the stairs. "Kurumi's nowhere in the house."  
  
"…I found Mihirogi downstairs." Ken said quietly. He held up a manila folder, bloodied handprints decorating it. "I guess she came here with a mission and someone must've been waiting for her. Staples have been torn from the folder, so whoever the target was- they came here for us."  
  
"Someone contact Kripton." Ran ordered. Free nodded and went to do just that. "No one let your guard down. Whoever it was could still be inside."  
  
"I don't like this," Michel said worriedly as he grabbed Ken's arm. Ken frowned and put a reassuring hand around the smaller boy's shoulders. He didn't like this either.  
  
===  
  
**C&C Please!**


	2. Guardian angels who left me stranded

Here's chapter 2. Sorry it took so long to come out, but I hit a nasty bump of writer's block. It's a little short, but that's because the next chapter will be all Side B. So, enjoy and please remember to review, 'kay?

===

Aya sat back and relaxed into the comfortable (if only a little gaudy looking) couch in the hospital's lounge. Her feet were killing her from walking around all afternoon with Nurse Itou- no, Asuka.  
  
"Are you feeling alright?" The older woman asked.  
  
"I'm fine." Aya said, smiling. "I'm just not used to being on my feet so much."  
  
"You get used to it," Asuka assured her. "So. That was the hospital. What did you think?"  
  
"It's bigger than most hospitals I've seen. I've been in a few since I woke up, and I think this one's the biggest one so far."  
  
"Since you woke up?" Asuka asked, getting her coat, as well as Aya's.  
  
"Oh!" Aya exclaimed. "I forget to tell you… I was in a coma for a while."  
  
Asuka winced. She felt pretty stupid now. "I had no idea. I'm sorry I asked."  
  
"It doesn't bother me at all. Really." Aya assured her.  
  
Asuka shook her head. "No, I really feel terrible now... I know! Let me make you dinner to make it up to you. How's that?"  
  
Aya pretended to think about it. It was no secret that she loved food. "Well, I am pretty hungry, now that you mention it."   
  
"Good. I wasn't going to take no for an answer anyway." Asuka said with a laugh. "Let's get out of here and I can take you to my house. You can even meet my husband!"  
  
===  
  
"Look," Nagi began, licking his dry lips. "I know I'm not supposed to be here, but-"   
  
"But nothing." The gun dug a little bit into his back. Nagi could feel the cool metal through the thin hospital scrubs. "Turn around." The telekinetic did as he was told and slowly turned around to face his assailant. An annoyingly familiar German and his American partner smirked back at him. Schuldig even wiggled his fingers in greeting. "Hey there, kiddo."  
  
Nagi almost wished it really were someone from Kritiker. He thought he was through associating with Schwarz. "What. The _fuck_. Are you two doing here?" Nagi asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on.  
  
"That's a hell of a way to kiss us hello." Schuldig remarked, holstering his gun.  
  
"We just got back from Italy. I wanted to make sure Schuldig has had all of his shots." Crawford said dryly as he pulled some red hairs from his suit. The German flipped him off. "What about you, Nagi?"  
  
"I was actually just about to leave." He said.  
  
"Are you still working for Kritiker?" Crawford asked.  
  
Nagi nodded. "I'm in the middle of following someone right now, actually."  
  
"Dressed in your jammies?" Schuldig asked. Crawford elbowed him in the stomach. The American even made physical comedy look All Business.   
  
"I'm undercover." Nagi said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"Not according to this, you're not." Crawford said, handing Nagi a folder with some documents in it.  
  
Nagi read over the papers in shock. Persia had hired Crawford and Schuldig to '_make sure he followed my orders; if he hasn't, feel free to dispose of him_', as the contract he was currently holding stated. He couldn't believe it. "Persia hired you two to KILL me!?"  
  
"He's a mean little bitch, that one." Schuldig said.  
  
"You're… not gonna do it, are you?" Nagi asked, eyeing the two assassins.  
  
Crawford snorted. "We would have done it by now if we were going to."  
  
"Christ, we're not _that_ ruthless." Schuldig said. "So why does Persia wanna kill you anyway? Piss him off?"  
  
"He's been acting weird lately." Nagi said. "Ever since I was assigned to monitor Aya Fujimiya, he's been getting really-"  
  
"-Fucking crazy?" Schuldig supplied.  
  
"Pretty much. And it's not just me. He's like this with all the agents. He'll be fine one minute, and then the next; he's like a totally different person. Nothing at all like the Mamoru Takatori I knew. Or even the Omi Tsukiyono of Weiss. And I can't explain why, exactly, but I feel like he has plans for something. Something terrible. And it somehow involves Aya. I want to get to the bottom of it, but I can't do it by myself- especially if I'm worried about Aya." Nagi looked at his former comrades hopefully. "So will you follow her for me? I can't shake the feeling that Persia is up to something."  
  
Schuldig glanced at Crawford, wondering how the older man felt about this. Crawford nodded.  
  
"We'll do it." Schuldig said with a smirk. "I think it's pretty cute that you're all bat-shit over a girl who isn't half-retarded this time."  
  
Nagi resisted the urge to strangle Schuldig.  
  
"-But for a discount." Crawford added.  
  
"Yeah, no freebies." Schuldig agreed, folding his arms.  
  
Nagi slouched. He should have known better than to think Crawford and Schuldig would help him out without expecting any sort of monetary gain. It was oddly comforting, though, knowing some things would never change. "Fine. We can discuss a price once Aya is safe."  
  
"Deal." Schuldig agreed, slipping an arm around Nagi's shoulders. "Christ, ya got big, kiddo. Brad, feel his arms. They're like fucking tree trunks."  
  
"I'd rather not." Crawford said. "We should get started on the job, Schuldig."  
  
The German rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..." He petted Nagi on top of his head and headed down the corridor with his precognitive partner. "We'll be in touch, Nagi."  
  
Nagi nodded and couldn't help but feel more at ease with Crawford and Schuldig on top of things.  
  
===  
**C & C Please!  
**


	3. It was worth it feeling abandoned

Ken lied back on the torn couch in the living room. The flower shop wasn't the only thing the intruders left in shambles- the apartment was also quite a mess. There was a huge hole in the television, glass littered the floor where all the windows were broken, the kitchen table was broken in half, and dishes were strewn all over the floor. Ken didn't even want to think of the shape his bedroom was in. He was about to get up and find out when Free settled on the couch beside him. "Any word from KR?"  
  
Free shook his head, his earrings making clanging noises as he did so. Ken always imagined Free as being one of those cryptic gypsy fortunetellers in old movies. "It's been hours, and still no word."  
  
"Shit," Ken swore, "what the Hell is going on..."  
  
Ran stalked into the room at that moment and went to sit on the couch, but hesitated when he saw Ken and Free taking up most of it. The brunet sat up and moved so he could make room for his partner. The swordsman sat down while eyeing the damage wearily. After hours of pacing, he was finally starting to wind down. The jetlag was starting to affect everyone, it seemed. Michel was already asleep in what remained of Free's bed- the tiny blonde's room was almost completely destroyed and the older man insisted Michel use his room while he slept elsewhere. Across the room, Yuki was fighting falling asleep while sitting in the recliner. Chloe had locked himself in his room and was more than likely asleep by now. Everyone was far too tired to deal with anything else for the night.  
  
"Alright, we'll sleep in shifts incase whoever did this comes back." Ran said after what felt like hours of silence. "Who wants to take the-"  
  
Yuki snored softly, his glasses slipping down his nose.  
  
"...Who wants to take the first watch?" Ran finished, looking at Ken, then Free.   
  
"I'll stay up. What's another few hours, right?" Ken said, cracking his neck.  
  
Free nodded. "Then I will go rest for now." He headed up the stairs and into his bedroom.  
  
Ken looked at Ran and offered him a smile. Ran returned it and sleepily rested his forehead on Ken's arm. Ken combed his fingers through the burgundy hair at the base of Ran's neck and sighed, exhausted. "We'll get them, Ran." He told him quietly. The only response he got was the redhead lacing his fingers through his own. Ken squeezed his hand, as if to reiterate his point. Within minutes, Ran was lulled to sleep by the sound of Ken's quiet breathing. Ken was about to nod off himself when Yuki cleared his throat. "Uh, aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Ken asked, quickly disentangling himself from Ran. The swordsman simply slumped over, still asleep '_For a professional assassin he sure sleeps heavy_.' Ken thought.   
  
"Aren't _you_ supposed to be awake?" Yuki asked, sitting up.   
  
Ken tried not to blush. It wasn't that he and Ran were keeping their relationship secret or anything, it's just that they were private about their personal feelings in front of their new team. Neither of the men was sure how their new teammates would react to them.   
  
"Look," Yuki said, knowing Ken was probably embarrassed, "it's nothing to be ashamed of. I sort of knew already anyway."   
  
"You did?" Ken asked. The tried to think back to a time when he might've recalled being affectionate with Ran while the other members of Kriptonbrand were around, but couldn't come up with any.   
  
Yuki nodded. "I... well... one night. Found you two. Erm." He blushed. "Well, anyway, you don't have to hide it. I don't really care and I doubt the others would mind."  
  
"Oh... _Oh_." Ken said. "Well, ah, sorry you hadda see that, kid."  
  
"Not as sorry as I am." Yuki muttered. He could still see it when he closed his eyes. That would certainly teach him to wander around the house in the middle of the night for spare blankets. "You can go to sleep if you want to. I don't think I'm going to be able to fall asleep again for a while."  
  
Ken stood up and stretched out for a minute before smiling at Yuki. "Thanks, I'm exhausted." He then bent over and shook his sleeping lover. "Ran. Oi, Ran, get up."  
  
Ran shook his head and mumbled something unintelligible before swatting at Ken's offensive hand.   
  
The brunet sighed in exasperation. "C'mon, let's get you to bed."  
  
"It's _Saturday_." Ran muttered, half asleep as he stood up and all but threw himself on Ken.   
  
Waking Ran up seemed like one complicated task and Yuki certainly didn't envy Ken one bit. It was a bit humorous to see the man he looked up to half-asleep and incoherent, however. The young boy couldn't help but smile as he watched Ken half-drag half-carry Ran up to his bedroom. Ken wasn't such a bad guy after all, he thought. 


	4. Makes one hardened But what has happened

Asuka stopped in the door way and let Aya enter the living room first. "Ryo, I want you to meet the girl who's shadowing me at work for a few days." She said.  
  
A man with short blond hair and green eyes looked up from his newspaper; first at his wife, then at the girl with her. He froze. "A-Ah." He was caught a little off guard since the girl looked so familiar. "I'm Ryo Itou, Asuka's husband." Where had he seen her before? His head was hurting again.  
  
Aya bowed. "I'm Aya Fujimiya. It's nice to meet you."  
  
"Aya..." He said quietly. A wave of nausea hit him as Ryo dropped the newspaper to the floor.  
  
"Ryo? Ryo!" Asuka ran across the room and knelt by her husband while he clutched at his head. "It's okay, I'm here. You'll be fine, Ryo..."  
  
Aya could only stare, not having the first clue what was going on or what to do about it. "Is he... is he alright?" She asked, feeling rather stupid. He certainly didn't look alright.  
  
"This happens sometimes." Asuka explained, calming Ryo down. "He has amnesia, so once in a while, if he starts to remember anything, he gets terrible headaches. Never this bad, though."  
  
Ryo groaned, as if to confirm what Asuka said.  
  
"I wonder what could have set him off like that..." Aya wondered out loud.   
  
Asuka and Ryo looked at the young girl standing in their living room.  
  
"You don't suppose it was _me_, do you?" Aya asked. "I've never even met Mr. Itou!"  
  
"No, but maybe you remind him of someone, Aya." Asuka suggested.  
  
===  
  
Across the street Crawford sat in a black Mercedes, listening to the conversation through Schuldig. The telepath had tuned his mind in to the Itou house, thus picking up their conversation perfectly. Of course, he couldn't hear any of it- he was transmitting whatever was happening inside the house through his mind and into Crawford's. He hated acting as a radio and not knowing what was going on, but it couldn't be helped in this case.  
  
Crawford gave the red haired man's hand a squeeze and leaned over to his ear. "That'll do for now, Schuldig."  
  
Schuldig cracked his neck and stretched out as much as he could in the car. "Well? What the Hell's going on in there?"   
  
"It seems as if Yohji will be recovering from his amnesia." The precog said with a smirk. "Things are going to get interesting very soon."  
  
The German rolled his eyes. "I love it when you get all cryptic, darling." He said sarcastically.  
  
The older man pushed his glasses up on his nose and started the car. He had as much of a flair for dramatics as the telepath. "I know you do."  
  
===  
  
"Persia!"  
  
Mamoru Takatori tore his attention from the files he was currently going over. "I hope this is important, agent."  
  
The Kritiker agent who had just barged into Persia's office nodded urgently. "It's Fujimiya. She's come into contact with Balinese."  
  
Mamoru quickly stood up and walked out of the room. "I'll be in the surveillance room if anyone needs me."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
The young Kritiker head walked swiftly down the long hallways of the building until he reached his destination. He put his hand on the panel by the door, punched in his code (FREESIA), and set foot in the room illuminated with numerous monitors and lights from recording equipment. Mamoru went to the very back of the room where the transmissions from the Itou house were located and sat down to listen.  
  
"Is he... is he alright?" He heard Aya's worried voice ask.  
  
"This happens sometimes." That was Yohji's wife. Mamoru recognized her voice easily enough. "He has amnesia, so once in a while, if he starts to remember anything, he gets terrible headaches. Never this bad, though."  
  
Yohji groaned, sounding like he was in pain. Mamoru frowned at the sound.  
  
"I wonder what could have set him off like that..." Aya said.  
  
Mamoru shook his head. "You have no idea, Aya-chan…"  
  
"You don't suppose it was me, do you?" She asked quickly. "I've never even met Mr. Itou!" Aya defended herself.  
  
"No, but maybe you remind him of someone, Aya." Asuka said gently, trying to calm her down.  
  
"So you think he might've known someone that I remind him of?" Aya asked.  
  
"I think so." Asuka replied. "I think so…"  
  
"Weiss…" Yohji muttered.  
  
Aya gasped.  
  
"Weiss?" Asuka asked. "Ryo, what's-"  
  
"It's already happening." Mamoru said to himself. "And so soon, too…"  
  
=== 


	5. To love?

**A/N:** Okay, here's where I start taking liberties. I know amnesiac patients probably never remember everything all at once, but let's pretend they do for fiction's sake, mmkay? Also, remember this is Weiss, and if Koyasu can get away with weird and impossible situations, so can I. Another thing: I'm not sure if Aya-chan knows about Ran's involvement with Weiss or anything but I'm going to act like she does, though he keeps her in the dark about what he's been up to in England. Also, she's never met his teammates from Weiss. Okay? Okay.  
  
===  
  
Ran woke up with a face full of Ken's hair. The red-haired man sat up and scratched the back of his head, looking around as his oblivious bedmate slept on. Glancing at his watch, Ran noticed he had a more than sufficient break from his turn on watch. Careful not to wake Ken, Ran eased him self out of the bed and out to the living room, intent to relieve Yuki of his duties.  
  
But Yuki was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Ran heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the flower shop and readied him self for an attack that never came. Instead, Michel bustled inside, his arms full of shopping bags.  
  
"Ooh, good!" Michel chirped. "You're awake!" He shoved some of the shopping bags into Ran's chest.  
  
The older man managed to keep the bags from falling to the floor. "What were you thinking, leaving this place unattended? Did you forget this place was attacked, that Mihirogi was killed, or that no one can find KR?"   
  
Michel pouted. "But I cleaned up and I noticed we needed new dishes and food, so I thought I'd step out for a moment to get some."  
  
Ran pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back a headache. He was the most irritable person in the morning. "You could've woken someone up to take over your watch while you were away."  
  
"Free is downstairs cleaning the shop, so I thought it would be alright." Michel explained. "You have to go through the back room of the shop to get access to the stairs that lead up here, so I thought it wouldn't be a problem with him down there."  
  
"The windows, Michel. The fire escape. The skylight." Ran pointed in the direction of each. "Those are all obvious ways to get in here aside from the shop."  
  
Michel hung his head, curly blond hair falling over his eyes. "I'm sorry. I figured it would be okay to leave for just a few minutes."  
  
"A few minutes would be all it would take for someone to bust in here and kill everyone in their sleep!" Ran shouted. "Didn't think of that, did you? Not while you're too busy playing house with Free, anyway."  
  
Free appeared in the doorway with Chloe coming up the stairs behind him. Neither of the men looked happy.  
  
"Chloe was on the roof watching the other 'obvious' entrances to the apartment." Free said quietly.  
  
"We are professionals too, you know." Chloe pointed out. "We may not be as angsty or as paranoid as your old team, but we're still assassins and we do know what we're doing. Have a little faith." With a disgusted look, the blond man headed back to the stairs up to the roof.  
  
"I'll help you put that stuff away, Michel." Free offered.  
  
Michel shook his head. "No, it's alright. You go back to the shop. I can handle this."  
  
Free wasn't sure if Michel was talking about Ran or the bags, but he nodded and went back down to the flower shop.  
  
Michel looked at Ran a moment before busying himself with putting the new additions to the kitchen away. Ran stood there, frozen in thought. Had he known Chloe was keeping watch, he wouldn't have blown up the way he did. Feeling guilty, he started putting away the food Michel bought. The tiny blond smiled at him, the incident already forgotten about.  
  
===  
  
"Weiss?" Asuka asked. "Ryo, what's Weiss?"  
  
Ryo ignored his wife. Instead, he was looking intently at Aya. The young girl felt rather uncomfortable. "Aya," he said quietly, calming down. "I remember your name."  
  
"Ryo, what-"  
  
"Well, 'Aya' is a fairly common girls' name..." Aya interrupted Asuka. She hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was.  
  
"No." Ryo answered. "I knew a _man_ with your name."  
  
Aya paled. This Ryo person knew Ran, and if that were the case, he must be an assassin as well... which could only mean- "I won't let you hurt him anymore!" She shouted, hands on her hips.  
  
"_Hurt_ him? Why would I want to hurt him?" Ryo asked.  
  
"You want to find him. You want to go back on your word." Aya said. "Well I won't let you! I won't have him kill for you anymore either, Omi."  
  
"You think I'm _Omi_?"  
  
"Well, that's not what you go by _these_ days, but it all is starting to make sense now." Aya rationalized. She looked over at Asuka. "And you can stop pretending you don't know what's going on, Rex."  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Asuka asked Aya, looking at Ryo.  
  
Ryo let out a short laugh. It wasn't a laugh Asuka wasn't familiar with at all. Infact, Ryo's whole body language had changed. Instead of sitting at the edge of the couch, leaning forward, as if he were about to run away at any second, Ryo was now leaned back on the couch. He looked more comfortable in his skin as well. "I'm not Omi." He said, explaining. "I'm Yohji. Yohji Kudou."  
  
Aya's eyes widened. "_You're_ Yohji?! Yohji the lazy, lecherous, woman-hungry, chain smoking pervert!?"  
  
"Hey, I'm not that lazy." Yohji said.  
  
Asuka stood up and folded her arms. "I have no idea what's going on and I think you two owe me an explanation."  
  
===  
  
Mamoru rose from his chair in the surveillance room and walked quickly to his office.   
  
A Kritiker agent greeted him at the door. "Persia, we have-"  
  
"Get me a list of our best snipers and gunners." Mamoru said quietly.  
  
"Sir?"   
  
"No civilians can know about us. Now get me the list." Persia turned his chair, so he was facing the window. "I knew this would happen," he said to himself as the agent left, "but not so soon…"  
  
===  
  
"You're an assassin?" Asuka nearly shouted.  
  
"Asuka, don't be mad. I can explain all of this." Yohji said apologetically.  
  
"What is there to explain? You killed people! What gives you the right? R-Yohji… whoever you are!" Asuka grabbed her purse. "I can't handle this right now. I need to take a walk."  
  
"Let me at least come with you." Yohji suggested.  
  
Asuka shook her head. "I can't be around you right now."   
  
As the nurse reached her hand out for the doorknob, the window nearby shattered. Asuka jerked her hand away and backed away from the window. "What's happening?" She demanded, looking at Yohji.  
  
Another window next to Asuka broke and the woman screamed. Yohji ran over to her and pulled her away from any windows. "Asuka, I don't know what's going on right now, but I'm sorry. I can't help but feel like this is my fault." He knocked the coffee table onto its side and pushed Asuka onto the floor, then Aya. The young girl and the older woman held each other in their panic as Yohji tried unsuccessfully to predict which window would break next. "Someone is obviously after one of us, most likely me. We need to find a way to get outta here without being shot."  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Asuka shouted. "Even if you _were_ an assassin, you aren't one anymore. Why won't they just leave you alone?"  
  
"It's never that easy, Asuka." Yohji answered. He looked toward the kitchen and noticed none of the windows had been shot out yet. "Alright, now both of you listen to me. I want you both to run through the kitchen and out the back to the car. I'll be right behind you."  
  
"What?" Aya shrieked.  
  
"Just trust me. I won't let either of you get hurt." Yohji assured them. "Now _go_!"  
  
Asuka stood up and dragged Aya with her through the narrow hallway that separated the living room from the kitchen with Yohji running close behind them. When they made it to the kitchen's back door, a window near Yohji broke and he screamed in pain. Asuka turned back to make sure he was okay.   
  
"It's just my arm, keep going!"   
  
Asuka nodded and pulled the door open, making a run for the car when she heard the sound of a gun going off. She could hear the bullet fly right past her legs and into the dirt. These people shooting at them weren't being very subtle about their intentions. The trio made it into to the car safely- Yohji in the driver's seat, Asuka in the passenger's seat, and Aya in the back.  
  
"Hurry!" Aya shouted, more terrified than she had ever been.   
  
Yohji fumbled around in his pants pockets and fished out the car keys. As the engine started, the rear window shattered.   
  
"Aya!" Asuka screamed.  
  
The younger girl had the back of her head covered with her hands and she was curled in a fetal position. "I-I'm fine. They missed me."  
  
Asuka sighed in relief.  
  
Yohji backed the car out of the driveway, threw it into gear, and sped down the street in an attempt to escape the hail of bullets. "I think we're safe for now." He said, turning onto a busier street.  
  
Everything after that seemed like it happened in slow motion. A black, foreign car pulled out in front of their vehicle as bullets came at them from behind. Aya screamed and got as low as she could. Yohji did the same, his hand grabbing Asuka's. The young nurse wasn't fast enough to avoid the bullets, however. The first one sent her head snapping sideways violently. Yohji could her his wife's neck snap at the impact. The second bullet silenced her short scream, lodging itself in her chest. She was killed instantly.  
  
"Asuka!" Yohji shook her lifeless body. "Asuka, no…"  
  
The passenger's side door of the black car in front of them opened and a familiar redhead stepped out of it, a pistol in each hand. He shot at the car that was following Yohji's, managing to kill the passenger and driver. He then pulled both Yohji and Aya into the black car before it sped off. 


	6. You got me writing lyrics on postcards

Aya felt like she was in a really bad spy movie as the black car sped down the expressway. She didn't see any of the cars that were previously following them, but it looked like the American man- Crawford- wasn't taking any chances. The car weaved in and out of the lanes with so much speed, Aya felt as though they went up on two wheels at least once. She looked over at Yohji. The older man removed his tie and tied it tightly around his arm to slow the bleeding. He looked irritated to be in the car with these two men. Aya didn't think they were friends of his.  
  
"What the hell do you two want with us?" Yohji demanded, glaring at Crawford's reflection in the rear view mirror.  
  
"It's not what _we_ want," Crawford said, never taking his eyes from the road. "It's what our client wants."  
  
Yohji snorted. "And what does your client want?"  
  
"The lovely Miss Fujimiya." Schuldig answered.   
  
Aya frowned angrily at the man sitting in the passenger's seat. '_How does he know who I am?_' She wondered.  
  
"We had business with you before, girly." The German said, watching in the rear view mirror as her eyes widened.  
  
"You can read my mind?" Aya asked.  
  
"You catch on quick. Much quicker than your dopey brother." Schuldig teased.  
  
The young girl sat back and huffed. '_Is there anyone who doesn't know Ran?_' Aya made a mental note to give her brother a verbal beating the next time she saw him.  
  
Yohji appeared confused. "I thought Esset was wiped out." He remembered the three old people who tried to summon a demon into Aya's body.  
  
Crawford snorted. "No, Balinese. The Sanroujin were wiped out. Esset is something else entirely." He adjusted his glasses with one hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel as the car all but flew down the road. "We don't work for them these days."  
  
"We're actually on the run. Esset's kinda angry we killed off their best agents." Schuldig said with a smirk.  
  
"Um, Excuse _you_, but Weiß had a hand in it, too." Yohji interrupted. He hated having others take credit for something he'd had a part in, too.  
  
"Anyway," Crawford said. "Schuldig and I are now on Esset's…" Crawford searched for the correct term.  
  
"Shit list?" The German interjected helpfully.  
  
The older man paused, considering it. "Yes, that." He continued, "Nagi was lucky enough to be taken into Kritiker. As for Farfarello, no one's been able to find him. All the better, I suppose." Crawford finished.  
  
"And what happened to him?" Yohji wondered aloud.  
  
"He ran away." Schuldig said. "With a _girl_."   
  
"…Huh." Yohji was at a loss for words.   
  
"So where are you taking us anyway?" Aya asked.  
  
Schuldig shrugged. "First? The airport. After that, I don't know. Our job ends there."  
  
"And you're working for whom?" Yohji asked.  
  
Crawford shook his head. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."  
  
"Friggin' Nagi Naoe." Schuldig supplied.  
  
"Naoe?" Aya gasped. She knew him. She had classes with him. She might've even talked to him once. "But I go to school with him. What business does he have with assassins?"  
  
"He is an assassin. One of the best in the world." Crawford answered, and then added quickly "But not better than Schuldig or myself."  
  
"Pssh! As if anyone could hope to be." Schuldig agreed.  
  
Yohji felt sick. Never in a million years did he ever imagine he'd be in the back seat of a car bleeding all over Crawford's leather seats while he and Aya were whisked away to safety by _Schwarz_. And then there was Asuka, his house, his car, his life-- what he thought was his life. All of it changed so fast. He only hoped Omi, Ken and Aya were happy, living a peaceful life somewhere. "How is your brother, Aya?" He needed to ask… anything to keep his mind off Asuka, if only for a short while.  
  
"Well, Ran lives in England now." Aya said. "He said I could visit him over summer holiday. He really likes it over there, too. He even opened a new flower shop."  
  
Somehow Yohji wasn't surprised. Out of the four of them, Ran seemed to actually enjoy being a florist the most. It suited someone quiet and serious like him. Ken just went along with it, as did Omi and himself. Ran actually understood the language of flowers and made the most extravagant arrangements. A few times, Yohji remembered seeing Ran alter the others' arrangements- not because he was a control freak, but because he actually enjoyed the job and was very meticulous about it.

Yohji suddenly remembered the katana. "Did his sword ever get to him?"  
  
Aya nodded. "I think so. He mentioned it to me once, but I've never seen it on display at the apartment."  
  
"Oh." Yohji said quietly. He felt a little disappointed.  
  
"We're almost to the airport, so I want you guys to be ready." Schuldig said. He reached into his holster and pulled out one of his guns. "Knowing Kritiker, that place will be crawling with agents." The red head loaded a new clip of ammo.  
  
"Nagi has a plane ready for you, it's just a matter of getting to the gate without being detected." Crawford said, pulling the car over to a gas station. He reached across the armrest and opened the glove box, retrieving a pair of scissors. "Go cut your hair." He said, handing the scissors to Aya.  
  
"Cut my hair? Are you crazy?" Aya all but shrieked. "It took me forever to get it this long and now you want me to _cut_ it?"  
  
"You can cut your hair," Crawford said "or you can get shot in the back of your head by a Kritiker agent. Which of the outcomes I've Seen is more favorable to you?"  
  
"I'll be back." With a sigh, Aya grabbed the scissors and went inside the gas station to use the bathroom's mirror.  
  
===


	7. Then in the evenings, looking at stars

"We can't stay here." Chloe announced suddenly at breakfast.  
  
Five sets of eyes left their plates and settled on the blond.  
  
"I agree with him." Yuki said, wiping his mouth. "It's not safe to stay here, now that whoever's after us knows where we live."  
  
"But they didn't attack us last night." Michel said.  
  
"Who's to say they won't _tonight_?" Yuki argued.  
  
"So you're suggesting we stay someplace else." Ran said to Chloe.  
  
Chloe nodded. "I think it's in our best interest."   
  
"Where are we gonna be able to stay on such short notice?" Ken asked.  
  
Everyone at table was quiet for a moment as they pondered the matter. The ringing of Ran's cellular phone broke the silence and their concentration.   
  
===  
  
Aya looked in the dirty mirror and frowned. Her hair looked as even as it was going to get, cutting it with shaky hands. She managed to get it in a short style, her hair stopping just above her shoulders. "It better grow back fast." She said, annoyed. All this business with assassins and secret organizations was so irritating. She picked her long, dark hair out of the sink and threw it into the wastebasket. On her way out of the bathroom, she looked at the payphone on the wall and took her phone card out. Glancing outside, Aya noticed Crawford and Schuldig talking in the car with Yohji. '_I don't think they'd miss me for a few more minutes._' she thought, picking the phone up and dialing Ran's cellular phone number. After it rang a few times, a man's voice answered.  
  
"Fujimiya."  
  
Hearing her brother's voice, Aya broke down. "Ran!" she sobbed.  
  
"Aya-chan? What's wrong?" Ran asked. He got up out of his chair and walked across the room to the window.  
  
"People are trying to kill me and Yohji and they shot his wife and these two weird men took us and they want us to go to the airport and they made me cut my hair and I need you!" The girl was near hysterical in tears.  
  
"What!?" Ran shouted. Everyone at the table looked at Ran in surprise. "Aya-chan, please calm down. Listen to me, I want you to take Yohji and go to the police. Ask for Mamoru Takatori. If they give you any problems, mention Kritiker." Surely, Omi would help her.   
  
"I can't, aniki…" Aya sniffled. "It's Kritiker who are after us."  
  
Ran was stunned. He couldn't think of anything to say to his sister, who was crying on the other end. Why was Kritiker after his sister? They were protecting her. And she mentioned Yohji. So he recovered his memory. Ran looked over at Ken, the brunet had concern written all over his face. "Where are they sending you from the airport?" He asked.  
  
Aya took a moment to compose her self before answering. "I- I don't know. I want to come be with you, Ran!"  
  
Ran didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her she couldn't come to England because people were after him as well. Also, if she came there, she'd know he was still killing… but he couldn't leave his sister in danger. "Aya-chan… I want you to do what those men ask you and Yohji to do. Call me again when you get to wherever they're taking you. We'll figure something out then."  
  
Trusting her brother's instructions, Aya agreed. "Okay. I'll call again soon. I miss you."  
  
"I know, Aya-chan. I miss you, too. So much." Ran answered quietly.  
  
"I love you, aniki." She hung up and took a deep breath before heading outside and getting in the car.   
  
"It's a little uneven in the back, but other than that, you did okay, Aya." Yohji said as the girl sat down beside him.  
  
Aya ran her fingers through the hair at back of her head and noticed it did feel a little uneven. "Mm. Thank you."  
  
"You feeling alright?"   
  
"I'm feeling much better now." Aya said. It was true; she did feel a lot better since she was able to talk to Ran. It felt good to vent to her brother, even if he couldn't do much to help her at the moment.  
  
Schuldig reached around in the briefcase by his legs and pulled out a long black-haired wig. "Here, Kudou. Put this thing on." He tossed the wig into the back seat.  
  
All Yohji could see was Asuka's head snapping to the side as the bullet connected with her temple, her beautiful black hair already matted with blood. He shut his eyes tightly. "Can't I just wear a hat or something?"  
  
"We don't have any hats." Crawford said, pulling the car out of the gas station and back onto the road. "Put the wig on, Balinese."  
  
Yohji reluctantly put the wig on, but made a point of keeping the hair out of his face. He didn't want to see the hair if he could help it.

===


	8. But the brightest of the planets is Mars

After riding in the car for what felt like days, Aya and Yohji made it to the airport. The moment Crawford parked the car; Schuldig opened the door and all but jumped out of the vehicle. He stretched his long arms over his head and cracked his neck, smiling in relief afterwards. "Christ, I fucking hate sitting in cars for long periods of time." The German announced as if he were telling the world.  
  
Crawford climbed out of the car and opened the door on Aya's side of the car. "We're here."  
  
The girl nodded and stepped out, looking around the parking lot suspiciously. "I hope this plan works," she said.  
  
"It will, if you two follow my instructions." Crawford said.  
  
"But how can you be so sure?" Aya wasn't too thrilled about doing what this weird man was telling her to do. Who the Hell was he to be so certain of everything anyway?  
  
"Just know that he knows, and leave it at that, princess. He's never wrong." Schuldig said while admiring the older man's features.  
  
Aya frowned and looked to Yohji, who only nodded. This was so aggravating. When did her life become a bad episode of the X-Files?  
  
===  
  
Kritiker agents weren't very good at being subtle, Nagi noticed, as he kept an eye on the man in the suit holding a newspaper over his face. How half of these people made it into the organization in the first place was beyond him. Nagi was at least less obvious about watching the Kritiker agent. He pretended to be absorbed in his mopping when he noticed a young girl walking beside a tall man with long black hair- the pair followed closely by two very familiar foreigners. Nagi nearly sighed in relief as they walked toward him. '_They made it here okay_.'  
  
"_Soomy_-masen," Schuldig said loudly, faking his best ignorant American tourist accent. "BATHROOM wa… uh… doe-koe de-soo kah?" Nagi cringed. Schuldig was certainly playing the part well.  
  
He answered the German in slow, careful Japanese. They had earlier discussed on finding a meeting place. This was obviously Schuldig's way of saying 'meet us in the bathroom'. Nagi headed in the direction of the men's restroom, the others following distantly behind him. Once they reached the bathroom entrance Nagi made sure no one was watching them and handed Crawford two airline tickets. "These will get them to England. I'm going to let Richard Krypton know they're coming. If anyone will be able to help them, it's him." He then looked at Aya and Yohji. "I'm sorry that this is all we can do for you two."  
  
Yohji shook his head. "It's alright. It's more than enough for now."  
  
"I can't believe you're a secret agent, Naoe." Aya said. "You were always so quiet at school."  
  
"I didn't want to draw any attention to myself." Nagi explained, leading them to their plane. "Please contact me the second your plane lands." He said, handing Aya a scrap of paper. "That's my personal cellular phone."  
  
Aya nodded as they approached the gate, taking the paper from Nagi. Her hand brushed his for a moment.  
  
Nagi blushed. "A-also, please take this, it'll be a little chilly in England." He removed his sweatshirt and handed it to Aya, who promptly put it on. It didn't match her skirt at all and it was clearly too big for her. She looked like a lost child in it.  
  
"Thank you, Naoe." She said, smiling.  
  
"It's nothing." Nagi said, looking anywhere but at Aya.  
  
Schuldig sighed loudly. "If you two are done, I think Aya and Yohji have a flight to get on."  
  
"Right." Nagi said, embarrassed. "Be sure to contact me, Fujimiya."  
  
"I wi--." Aya promised.  
  
A shot ringing out from across the terminal interrupted her.  
  
"So much for a romantic goodbye scene." Schuldig commented, not hesitating in pulling out his guns. He turned around to see who was aiming for them. The Kritiker agent had abandoned his newspaper and was now running at them with his gun pointed in their direction.  
  
Nagi grabbed Aya by her wrist and began running with her to the plane, the tickets tossed to the floor. "Let's get out of here!" he shouted. Yohji followed closely behind, not even looking back to see how Schuldig and Crawford were faring. He heard several shots and a few German curse words, but nothing else as they continued to run. He hated the fact that he hoped they were okay.  
  
The lines in the terminal seemed to part for the trio as they ran frantically towards the gate, thanks to Nagi's telekinesis. They made it outside and headed for the small private plane that the rogue Kritiker agent had prepared for them earlier. Yohji ran up the steps and into the plane, then helped Aya up the stairs after him. The young girl grabbed Nagi's hand. "Please be careful!" She demanded.  
  
Nagi answered by pulling her head down and kissing her soundly.  
  
Aya froze in shock. It took her minutes to realize that she had been pulled into a seat and that the plane had taken off before she touched her hand to her lips. She could still feel her first kiss.  
  
"Hoo, hoo. How _romantic_." Yohji chided, nudging her with his elbow.  
  
=== 


	9. Then what has happened to love?

After some debate the six members of Kriptonbrand decided to head to KR's castle. In addition to it being a safer place to stay, they deduced that they might also be able to find an idea of where to start looking for their missing employer and Kurumi. They boarded a taxi-van and were on their way. It would take a few hours to get to the castle from the flower shop, so they all decided to get comfortable. Chloe and Michel read while Free slept and Yuki played his Game Boy. Ran stared out the window for the most part, talking with Ken occasionally. Since the redhead had told his lover about what happened with Aya, Ken had noticed Ran acting the way he did before his sister woke up.  
  
"Ran." Ken said quietly, a short while after the sun had went down.  
  
"Mm?" Ran didn't look away from the window. He didn't want to show how worried he was, so he let his stoic mask of indifference slide back into place.  
  
"Aya-chan will be okay. She has Yohji with her. It sounds like a dumb thing to say, but please… try to relax a little."  
  
"You don't know if she'll be okay for sure, Ken." Ran said almost harshly, turning from the window to face the other man. "Until I have her with me and completely safe, I _can't_ relax."  
  
Ken sighed in frustration and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right." He couldn't help but feel like Ran was shutting him out, much the way he used to when Aya was in the coma. It was supposed to be different now, not only because Aya was awake, but also because he and Ran were together. '_Maybe I was expecting too much from him. What led me to think that he'd open up to me if something was bothering him?_' He thought bitterly, studying Ran's guarded expression. '_Same old Ran, cutting everyone off when he's the one hurting._' Ken only hoped that this was temporary.  
  
After their arrival at KR's castle the assassins scaled the stone wall, then entered the grounds. With Yuki's lock-picking skills they managed to make it into the castle without incident. Once inside, they split into teams of two to make sure they were the only people inside, and to look for possible clues as to KR and Kurumi's whereabouts. Michel and Yuki paired off, heading for KR's office first. Ran and Chloe left to check the upper levels while Ken and Free stuck to the lower floors and the basement.  
  
"So Yuki, which of these rooms do you think KR's office is?" Michel asked.  
  
"…You mean to tell me you don't know?" Yuki tightened his grip on the flashlight.  
  
Michel shook his head. "I don't remember. I used to always get lost in this place!" He laughed nervously.  
  
Yuki held the flashlight even tighter, as not to give in and hit Michel in the head with it. "I guess we'll have to split up and search room by room, then."  
  
The tiny blond looked despaired. "That could take all night!"  
  
The young Japanese leaned against the wall. "Do you have any better ideas?"  
  
Michel hung his head. "No… but we only have one flashlight."  
  
"So?"  
  
"I'm not going to wander around in the dark all alone!" Michel said, making a grab for Yuki's flashlight.  
  
"What are you doing? This is mine!" Yuki yanked the only light source away from the other boy quickly.  
  
"Yuki, don't be mean!"  
  
Michel dove on top of Yuki, causing him to fall backwards. Yuki's fall was less than graceful, his short arms scrambling for purchase as he lost his balance. At the last second, the black-haired boy lost his grip on the flashlight with one hand while his other pulled on a decorative sconce to hold himself up. Michel had his arms wrapped around Yuki's torso in some feeble attempt to pull the other boy to the ground, but let go when he noticed the flashlight was gone.  
  
"Wh-where did the flashlight go?" Michel whimpered.  
  
Yuki squinted, trying to see through the darkness. "The flashlight didn't go anywhere. We did."  
  
Michel squeaked. "You mean we went through a secret passage?"  
  
The other boy only nodded. "And here I thought secret passages were only in movies."  
  
"This is the coolest." Michel said giddily.  
  
"It'd be even cooler if we could see." Yuki complained.  
  
Michel frowned, feeling around the darkened room while his eyes adjusted. Yuki cleared his throat when Michel touched him inappropriately. "Sorry, Yuki…" the smaller boy said, embarrassed. "…You know if this old castle has secret passages I bet it's haunted, too."  
  
"Haunted?" Yuki asked, wondering where Michel suddenly went off to. He groped around blindly in the dark, trying to locate the smaller boy, but only managed to trip himself. The moment Yuki connected with the floor, a monitor blinked on. Michel screamed and glomped onto a coat rack, thinking it was the other boy.  
  
A young man's face appeared onscreen. The text on the screen showed that it was recorded minutes before being sent. "KR, this is Kritiker operative Angora. I am sending over a civilian and an ex-agent who require your assistance. We here at Kritiker would handle this matter ourselves, but outside assistance is necessary…"  
  
The two boys continued to watch as the young man on the screen gave them the time and where to retrieve the two people, making sure they committed it to memory.  
  
"We have to tell the others." Yuki said, once the transmission ended.  
  
"Right." Michel agreed, trying to feel his way back to the door. Yuki cleared his throat again. "…Sorry, Yuki!"  
  
===  
  
"Out of the question." Ran said, glaring at Michel and Yuki.  
  
"But Ran, it was a distress call!" Michel whined.  
  
Yuki was about to interrupt and call Michel on lying, but thought better of it after seeing the desperate look on the younger boy's face.  
  
"Distress call or not, I severed all ties with Kritiker. I will _not_ help Takatori."  
  
Ken frowned. "It's not like we'd be helping. We're taking over a job. It's completely different."  
  
Ran's eyes narrowed. "In case you forgot, we're having a little bit of a crisis ourselves, Ken. We have about all we can handle for now, don't you think?"  
  
"Well, I'm not going to turn down a request for help." Ken argued. "You can refuse all you want, but remember it'll be on _your_ conscience later."  
  
Ran folded his arms. "I don't want to bring any other people into this. If we take this mission, we'll only be endangering them even further."  
  
The other four members of Kriptonbrand watched as the two men argued.  
  
"Well, do what you want," Ken said, unable to convince the older man. "But I'm going." he finished.  
  
"When you get yourself and the civilians _killed_, try to remember that I-" Ran didn't bother finishing. He punched the wall and stalked off instead.  
  
"Bastard." Ken muttered. He then turned and looked at Michel and Yuki. "What time and where?"

===


	10. So I will opt for the big white limo

Yuushi Honjyou sighed as he looked out the window of the small airplane. He hated flying. Unfortunately for him, it was usually a part of the job. Since Mamoru Takatori had taken over Kritiker and became the new Persia, Yuushi found himself working more often on harder missions. He still hadn't been asked to kill anyone, so things weren't so bad. He was recently removed from the Crashers unit, though, so Persia could use him on more solo missions. Yuushi was quickly becoming Kritiker's top agent.  
  
"Please fasten your belts and put your seats in the full upright position, as we will be landing momentarily." A pleasant voice said over the speaker in the cabin.  
  
Yuushi did as he was instructed, then took another look at the folder containing the instructions of his mission. He couldn't help but wonder what Persia wanted with an ex-agent and a civilian, or why they were trying to outrun Kritiker in the first place. When he was briefed, the details weren't disclosed to him. He was simply told to bring them back to Japan, by force if necessary. '_There's probably more to this than I'd want to know anyway._' The blond thought as the plane landed.  
  
===  
  
Mamoru Takatori rubbed at his eyes as he checked over the latest reports from various agents. No word had gotten back to him on Yohji or Aya since they left the airport. With a frustrated sigh, he contemplated whether it was a good idea or not to send Honjyou after the ex-assassin and young girl. He knew that the blond man had no experience as far as killing went, but he was still an exceptional operative. He only hoped Yuushi could get Yohji and Aya back into the country without incident.  
  
This way, he could finish the job himself. He was a firm believer of 'If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself'.  
  
===  
  
Ken stalked into the garage and looked at the various cars it housed. The brunet hated cars, but he didn't think three people would fit very well on a motorcycle. He decided to go with the least-flashy looking car he could find. He entered the unlocked car and hotwired the thing, and then he was off to the airport. The others chose to stay behind, saying there was no need in everyone going if it was just to pick someone up and bring them back to the castle for now. Ken knew the real reason no one came with him, though. They didn't want Ran angry with them as well. '_Whatever,_' He thought. '_He can be pissed off all he wants. I could care less._'  
  
Once he reached the airport, he parked and went to the gate Yuki wrote down for him. Ken checked the paper eight times before he saw the last person he'd expect. "Y-Yohji…"  
  
"Ken? Oh God, KEN!" Yohji ran over to the brunet, a girl with short hair following him closely behind. He grabbed the shorter man by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "Jesus Christ, it's so good to see you. I've missed you so much."  
  
Ken smiled and patted Yohji tentatively on the back. "It's been a while." He pulled away from the other man and got a good look at him. "Yohji, what's with your hair?"  
  
"Huh? Ohh…" Yohji remembered and removed the black-haired wig Schuldig had thrown to him. His short, blond hair underneath was a little mussed and sticking up in places. "It was part of my _'clever disguise'_." He did finger quotes on 'clever disguise'.  
  
"Disguise? Are you telling me that you guys were _sent_ here?" Ken asked.  
  
"Yes." The girl finally spoke up. "Nagi Naoe from Kritiker sent us here."  
  
"Then _you're_ the ones we're supposed to be picking up!" Ken said hurriedly, grabbing Yohji by the arm and Aya by her wrist. "I gotta get you guys outta here before anyone sees." He guided the two to the car and then they were off to the castle. Yohji sat in the back, half-lying down, while Aya sat in the passenger's seat. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself before, but I'm Ken. You're Aya-chan, right?" Ran was going to feel like such an ass when he realized he refused to rescue his sister. Ken smirked to himself. '_I so win this argument._' He thought.  
  
Aya smiled and toyed with her uneven hair. "That's right." She was so relieved to be out of Japan, away from all that excitement. Now that she was in England, she could contact Ran. She also had to get in touch with Nagi and let him know she and Yohji arrived safely.  
  
"Well, don't worry guys, I'm taking you to the safest place there is at the moment." Ken assured them.  
  
"That's the best thing we've heard all day, right?" Yohji asked, nudging the back of Aya's seat.  
  
"Yes." The girl agreed.  
  
Ken glanced at the girl and shook his head in disbelief. "Man, Ran's gonna shit a brick when he finds out that the mission he just turned down involves _you_."  
  
Aya raised an eyebrow. "That's not possible. My brother doesn't do work like this anymore."  
  
"Oh." Ken said quietly. He didn't say anything else, but he could feel Aya's intense eyes on him, daring him to explain why he would even begin to think Ran was still in 'work like this'. '_Jeez, she's just like her brother._'  
  
"Ken, is there something you'd like to tell me?" Aya asked, though the way she said it, it sounded nothing like a question.  
  
Ken squirmed uncomfortably in the driver's seat. "Maybe you should talk to Ran about this."  
  
Yohji watched on in amusement from the back seat.  
  
When they arrived at the castle Ken parked the car towards the back, instead of putting it back in the garage. He led Yohji and Aya to the service entrance of the castle and ushered them inside.  
  
Aya pushed past Ken and Yohji once they were at the bottom of the stairs. "Where is he?" She demanded. Ran was in _so_ much trouble.  
  
Ken was about to respond when he heard footsteps slowly descending the staircase. In all his rushing to get out of the castle, Ken had forgotten to take his bugnuks with him. Yohji was equally unarmed, though it didn't keep him from reaching for his imaginary watch. Aya merely stood there, her arms folded. Ken and Yohji visibly relaxed when little Michel appeared, looking quite confused and very unthreatening. "Ooh, Ken, you're back!" The teen smiled brightly at his teammate. "Ohh, are these two the ones we were briefed about?" Michel asked, eyeing Yohji and Aya curiously.  
  
Ken nodded. "Michel, this is Aya and Yohji."  
  
Michel grabbed and shook Yohji's hand, then curtseyed at Aya. "It's nice to meet you both." The pair looked at Michel in confusion, not knowing what to make of him. The little blonde merely smiled at them and led them upstairs. "I came this way thinking I'd find a bathroom, but I guess I got lost again!" He opened the door at the top of the flight and held it while Yohji, Aya, and Ken stepped inside a large hallway. "This place really is way too big, you know?"  
  
"Did you guys find anything else out while I was gone?" Ken asked as the four of them headed for the sitting room, where everyone else was gathered.  
  
Michel shook his head; blonde curls falling in front of his eyes. "No, but Chloe found some bedrooms we can sleep in."  
  
At the mention of sleep Aya yawned, holding her pale hand over her mouth. "Sleep sounds like a wonderful idea right now."  
  
Once they reached the door of the large sitting room, Ken pulled it open. "I'm back," he announced.  
  
Ran quickly stood up from where he was sitting at the window overlooking the garage. He didn't want Ken to know he'd been waiting for him to come back since he left. He turned to face Ken, putting on his best 'I'm still pissed at you' face. Ran didn't expect to see his adored little sister with Ken, or his old teammate. Suffice to say, the 'I'm still pissed at you' face became the 'Holy shit' face. "A-Aya-chan." The redhead was at a loss for words, shocked and relieved at the same time.  
  
The dark-haired girl ran over to her older brother, tears forming in her eyes. "Ran!" When she made it across the room, she slapped him across the face. It might've been Michel's imagination, but he could've sworn it echoed. "You _lied _to me!" Aya shouted. "You said you weren't killing anymore and I believed you!"  
  
The slap he received barely hurt, but Ran still looked surprised. "Aya-chan, I'm sorry," he apologized.  
  
"I'm so angry with you." Aya said as she hugged her brother tightly, her face pressed against his chest.  
  
Ran could feel his sister's tears already soaking through his shirt. He wound his arms around her while she cried quietly. She had obviously been through a lot, and she had barely enough time to adjust to what was going on. "You're okay now, Aya-chan. I'm with you." He assured her, running a hand through her hastily cut hair.  
  
Michel decided the siblings needed a moment alone, so the tiny blonde ushered everyone else out of the room.  
  
=== 


	11. Vanity fairgrounds and rebel angels

After an hour or so of talking and crying in the sitting room with her brother, Aya had fallen asleep on the couch

After an hour or so of talking and crying in the sitting room with her brother, Aya had fallen asleep on the couch. The red-haired assassin lifted his sister gently as he could, so not to disturb her, then carried her upstairs to one of the bedrooms. He placed her carefully in the middle of the large bed and covered her with the blankets. Ran brushed Aya's bangs away from her face and kissed his sister's forehead. "Sleep well, Aya-chan." He had just about closed the door when he heard a sleepy 'oyasumi, aniki'. He was leaning against the closed door and rubbing at the sore muscles in his neck when he noticed Ken seated in a chair not quite across from Aya's bedroom. "It's getting late," Ran said quietly. "You should get some sleep."

"I know," Ken replied. His voice sounded rough and tired. "I was waiting for you."

"You didn't have to." Ran said, beginning to walk off.

"I wanted to." Ken said, getting up and following the other man down the long corridor.

Ran stopped in front of a half-open door and turned to face Ken. "Goodnight, Ken." He was halfway through the bedroom when he felt the brunet's presence behind him. "Please don't."

"Don't what?" Ken asked. "Don't you want to sleep with me tonight?" He moved around the redhead so he was facing him. Ken lifted his lover's chin, forcing Ran to look him in the eye. "Are you still mad at me from earlier?"

"No. I'm not mad anymore." Ran said softly. He couldn't stay mad. Not at Ken.

"Then what's wrong?" Ken asked, pulling Ran closer to him. The redhead relaxed in Ken's arms and rested his head on his shoulder. It was pointless to try to get away from the brunet. The other man chased him across the world to be near him, after all.

"You're going to over-react when I tell you," Ran said; his words almost muffled by Ken's shirt. Ken tightened his hold on Ran as if to assure him he wouldn't, but the redhead knew his fellow assassin better than he knew himself. Ran inhaled deeply, taking in his partner's scent. 'He always smells so good.' He mused, but shoved that thought away. "It's Aya-chan." Ran said, finally.

"Aya-chan is safe. Nothing can hurt her here, so you don't need to worry about keeping a constant watch on her." Ken assured him, burying his nose in the soft hair of his lover. "Besides, even if something did happen, she's got you protecting her. So can we please relax and just go to bed?" One of Ken's hands ran down the redhead's back while the other moved up to massage the back of his partner's neck. "And you're so tense. I could fix that for you, if you want…" Ken suggested as he brought his lips to Ran's long, pale neck.

Ran sighed, lost in sensation, and carded his fingers through Ken's dark hair. He wanted to keep Ken's head where it was, feeling that clever tongue snake out and lick over a particularly sensitive spot. His lover knew just how to distract him. Any doubtful feelings he had about Aya's safety were quickly forgotten. Ran just wanted to feel Ken. He felt the powerful hand on his back move lower until it rested on his rear, pulling him against the other man. He could feel Ken's hardness against his own, but the low growl he felt as much as heard from the brunet was what really excited him. "God, Ken…" Ran panted.

Ken knew an invitation when he heard one, so he grabbed the bottom of Ran's gray sweater and pulled it over the man's head. Ran's amethyst eyes slid shut as he reveled in his lover's attentions. Ran pressed his lips against his lover's, opening his mouth slightly to allow the brunet to caress his tongue with his own, which Ken wasted no time in doing. The kiss started out gentle and soft, but soon turned to something hungrier. While their tongues slid and pushed against each other, battling for dominance, Ran stripped Ken of his shirt. He needed to feel Ken's warm skin against his own.

The brunet navigated their bodies until they were beside the bed. He laid Ran down on the soft mattress, and then set about removing the redhead's black trousers. Ran aided him, arching his back to lift his ass off the bed. Ken successfully removed Ran's pants and boxers in one move, then quickly removed his own before covering the pale, lithe body on the large bed with his darker, more muscular one. He needed this as much as Ran did, if not more.

Ken had initially wanted to take his time, to savor this moment with his lover, but seeing Ran' skin flush under his was enough to change his mind. He put two of his fingers in Ran's mouth and watched as the redhead sucked on them eagerly, coating them in saliva. "I want you so bad, Ran…" Ken groaned as he brushed his erection against the other man's entrance. Ran whimpered around Ken's slick fingers, then threw his head back. It felt so good to let someone else take control, someone else be responsible. He felt Ken's fingers slide out of his mouth, then push inside of him, moving in a scissoring motion.

"If you want me so bad, then take me," Ran invited, hooking his legs around Ken's waist.

"Anything you say," Ken complied, leaning down to posses Ran's mouth one more time. While they kissed, Ran reached down and stroked Ken's swollen cock, spreading the pre-come that leaked out of it. Ken removed his fingers from inside his lover and replaced them with his rigid member. He pushed into Ran's tightness at an excruciatingly slow pace, careful not to hurt the redhead. Once he sank in all the way, he waited for some kind of sign from Ran to tell him it was okay to move.

Wiping away the sweat that had collected on Ken's brow, Ran nodded once. "Go ahead," he whispered.

Ken pulled himself almost all the way out, then slid back inside his lover with ease. He grabbed a hold of the redhead's narrow hips and repeated his actions, each time gaining speed. Ran pushed his hips up to meet Ken's every stroke, desperate to feel the delicious pressure that made his eyes roll into the back of his head. When he finally reached his peak, Ran clutched at Ken's back; his neatly-trimmed nails leaving crescent moon-shaped marks on the brunet. Ken came not a moment later with a gutteral growl.

They kissed, almost sleepily, as their heart rates returned to normal. Ken pulled out of Ran carefully before staggering off to the adjoining bathroom to clean up. When he returned a moment later with a damp rag, Ken also cleaned off the already-dozing Ran. Tossing the rag carelessly onto the floor, Ken climbed into the spacious bed. He felt the other man crawl across the bed before depositing himself against him- a pale leg placed between his bronze ones, and an arm across his chest.

"You're gonna get my slimey sweat all over you, ya know." Ken warned, jokingly.

"I like your slime," Ran muttered, curling closer around his lover's body; his head pillowed on the broad chest.

--

A/N: It's been forever, I know. I thought I'd breathe new life into this old story of mine and put the "deleted scene", as it were, back in. Also, believe it or not, I am actually working on a new chapter FINALLY. Wonder how Yohji's coping with having his memories back and surviving another Asuka Death? Me too, you'll see it next time. ;D


	12. Can't be trusted with feathers so hollow

The little blonde girl, who Yohji found out to later be a boy, helpfully directed the older man down a long corridor of bedrooms. "You can stay in here tonight," Michel announced cheerily. "If you need anything, I…" Michel pouted "…well, I don't really know where anything is. This place is so big!" He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Well, at any rate, I'm sure you'll find everything you need in here."

Yohji smiled and thanked the young man with a clap on the shoulder before heading into the room. A shower, a shave, and some too-small pajamas later and Yohji was lying in a bed far too large to be occupied by one person. The bed in the room he chose to sleep in was easily as big as Asuka and his bedroom back in Japan.

Asuka… lost again. It all felt like one long, recurring nightmare. This was a nightmare Yohji couldn't help but ponder as he stared at the ceiling. He was exhausted, depressed, but yet oddly comforted. It had been a while since he had seen Ken or Ran. Even in his short life as Ryo Itou he had felt some kind of longing for his former teammates- Ran especially.

Yohji wondered about his and Ran's occasional trysts… Usually to ease the tension after missions, Ran would appear in Yohji's bedroom for some small talk, but mostly sex. _'Well, he was Aya back then,'_ he thought_. 'Ran is almost someone else entirely. I'm sure he reverts into Aya-mode while on missions, though.'_ He smiled at the thought of being invited onto a mission, if only for the "debriefing".

'_What is up with Ken?'_ Yohji asked himself. The last time he saw Ken, the younger man didn't seem very stable. In fact, Ken had begun to scare Yohji a little. What could he have gone through to suddenly seem so normal again?

And then there was Omi. He may have been the youngest member of their team, but Omi had certainly been an assassin longer than any of them. Yohji had no idea who Omi even was anymore. What was he doing, where was he, even? Was he still going by 'Omi'? Yohji had always thought of the youngest Weiss as a younger brother. He hoped he was someplace safe.

The most pressing matter to himself, as much as he hated to admit it, was that Yohji Kudou wanted a cigarette. Badly. Unfortunately no one else smoked here. _'Maybe if I just got some air, I'd be alright.' _He reasoned with himself, swinging his legs over the side of bed. With a sigh he stood up and toed on the slippers provided for him. With it being a warm night, Yohji found no need to put on a robe, and just headed over to the French doors of the balcony of his room. After stepping outside, Yohji took a moment to survey the surrounding area. Some instincts just never went away.

"Yohji?"

Yohji's head snapped in the direction of his name. "Huh?"

Ran was standing on the balcony of the next room over. "Can't sleep?"

Yohji swallowed. Clad in only pajama bottoms, Ran was shirtless and flushed, his hair a mess. He looked recently ravished. Yohji swallowed again. _'Damn Aya, looking hot.'_ He thought, before reminding himself that the redhead was going by 'Ran' now. "Not really. Still adjusting to all of this, I guess." The blond finally answered, running his hand through his short, messy hair.

"Aa." Ran answered, looking out across the lawn to the gardens. "I feel the same way. At least I know Aya-chan is safe here… though it surprised me seeing you arrive." He glanced over to the other man purposefully. "It's been a long time, Yohji. I had wondered how you were doing."

Yohji laughed bitterly. "I've been better, that's for sure."

"Yes, I suppose so." Ran agreed. "It's not everyday something like this happens… even in our line of work."

"Not my line of work." Yohji responded. "I'm a desk jockey these days. Or at least I was. Don't know what to do now… about anything."

"I'm sorry." Ran apologized.

"Don't be. None of it's your fault."

Ran nodded.

Yohji nodded back to him. _'God, this is awkward.'_ "Do you want to maybe…"

"God, its hot tonight!" Ken's voice traveled through the room before he arrived on the balcony to join his lover. Fresh from a shower, he wound his arms around Ran from behind and nuzzled into the back of the redhead's neck. "Not as hot as—Yohji!!" Embarrassed, Ken immediately let go of Ran and folded his arms in an attempt to look nonchalant. "So, um… how about this weather?" Ken was turning redder by the second.

'_Ken and Aya?! KEN and Aya!?'_ Yohji mentally screamed. _'How the hell does that even WORK?'_ Yohji faked his lazy smile for Ken and fanned at his face a little. "It's pretty warm, Ken… I had no idea I was interrupting anything."

Ken shrugged and tried to look everywhere but at Ran. "Oh, you didn't interrupt, we had just finished-"

"Ken!" Ran gasped.

"…Um, yeah." Ken stammered for a minute. There was just no graceful way to say you had finished getting laid. "Well, yeah. You weren't um… interrupting anything." Ken looked at Ran and kissed the redhead slightly below his ear on the side of his neck. "I'm gonna go look for something to eat. I'll be back, Ran. 'Night Yohji!" Obviously embarrassed, the brunet headed back inside.

Ran smiled and touched on his neck where Ken had just kissed him. His favorite spot.

"Ken!?" Yohji all but yelled. "You're fucking KEN now?"

Ran shrugged. "Yes?"

"How did this come about? I get amnesia for a few months and you jump in bed with the next closest dude?" Yohji was not exactly happy for them.

"First of all, I didn't just 'jump in bed' with Ken. Second, what do you care? We were definitely never exclusive. That was _your_ rule, if I remember correctly." Ran defended himself.

Yohji winced. _'He may be right, but it still stings a bit.'_ "It's just… weird to see you that way with Ken. I didn't even think he was into guys."

"He's not into _guys_, really." Ran said, almost dismissively. "Just me."

"Yeah, but," Yohji said, still unable to wrap his mind around Ken and Aya doing anything but killing people together "….but Ken? Seriously? You two have zero things in common. What's the attraction?"

Ran scowled and put his hands on his hips. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not trying to be mean, I'm genuinely curious." Yohji said, only half-telling the truth.

"Well," Ran began, thoughtfully. "He's very caring. He makes me feel like a better person. I look forward to waking up in the morning and seeing him pretend to be asleep next to me, just so we can get out of bed together everyday. He's an excellent cook… and he's really…" Ran bit his lip as he tried to find the proper word.

"Oh God, don't tell me you think Ken's 'hot'." Yohji begged.

Ran's eyes narrowed. "I was going to say charming..."

Yohji blinked.

"Although being hot helps." Ran finished.

"Weird. I'm going back to bed. Good night." He waved and headed back into his bedroom.


	13. Heaven's invention, steel eyed vampires

iTrailed by five Kritiker agents, a tall American with prematurely graying hair and a skinny German with a foul mouth ran thr

_Trailed by five Kritiker agents, a tall American with prematurely graying hair and a skinny German with a foul mouth ran through the airport parking garage. They only turned around when their thoughts were barely a whisper in the German's mind, at which point the odd pair would fire their pistols._

_One agent fell on top of a small truck, clutching at the crimson spot spreading across his chest. His thoughts stopped soon after. Schuldig holstered his gun and continued to run, a small gap forming between him and his partner. 'Shit, these guys are persistent.' He projected to Crawford. _

_'Don't risk your life by using telepathy right now. Concentrate on running.' Crawford thought to Schuldig._

_'God, sorry. You can't expect a kid to have all the best toys and not play with them...' Schuldig replied as they rounded a corner to head for the elevator. _

_Crawford got in the door first, and that was when the first shot fired into his knee. _

_"Brad!" Schuldig screamed, watching the other man fall onto his knees._

_Two more shots rang out, not seconds later crimson stains began forming on Crawford's chest and stomach. He looked confused, his mouth agape. "Sch... "_

_To see his former leader turned partner in such a state made the redhead snap. "Hang on Brad..." he said with an eerily calm tone._

_Schuldig turned around and found himself surrounded by the remaining Kritiker agents. "I'll fucking kill all of you..." Schuldig's eyes glowed a faint gold color before he closed them. When he opened his eyes, the four agents fell to the ground, blood sputtering violently from their ears. Schuldig smiled cruelly, kicking one of the dying agents onto his back. "Normals." He said, dismissively. When he looked back to where Crawford lay in the elevator, the older man had managed to sit himself up with his back against the wall. Schuldig wasted no time in running over to him._

_"It's... not looking-" Crawford began to talk._

_"Shh." Schuldig placed a finger on the older man's lips. "Don't say anything. You need to keep y-"_

_"-not much time. Sebastian, I..."_

_"Bradley, don't." Schuldig almost begged. He desperately grabbed Crawford's hands and applied pressure over the other man's fatal wounds. The thick, sticky liquid seeped easily out of the American, staining their clothes, their skin. Schuldig pressed his forehead against Crawford's and let himself cry for the first time since he was a new cadet at Rosenkreuz. "Don't go," he whispered before everything went black._

"Sebastian." Crawford had said suddenly, while running through the parking garage. "Something is going to happen to me."

"Something? Something like what?" Schuldig knew it was important when Crawford used his real name.

"I don't think I'll make it to the car. You may have to leave me here."

"Fuck that shit, Brad!" Schuldig said, as they ran past the seemingly infinite rows of parked cars. "If I leave you, I'm fucked. You know what's been happening with my powers lately. Your mental shields are the only thing keeping me sane right now. "

Schuldig began to run for the elevator, but Crawford grabbed his arm and redirected him toward the stairs. "It's quicker, believe it or not."

As they ran up the stairs, two Kritiker agents appeared on the landing. Crawford was quick, however, and shot the two of them before shoving Schuldig ahead of himself on the stairwell. "Keep moving." He commanded the telepath. The pair ran up seven flights of stairs before arriving on the level where Crawford's Mercedes was parked. "Get in the car." He said from the driver's side door.

"Should I drive?" Schuldig asked. He looked over his shoulder while briefly scanning the area for any mind activity. Kritiker was gone, it seemed. His head was beginning to hurt.

Crawford shook his head. "We've made it to the car. We must have avoided the Vision."

The German nodded, then got inside the car. He watched Crawford settle into the driver's seat and re-adjust the rear view mirror. Schuldig was quiet a moment before saying "Bradley."

"Hmm?"

"Back there, you scared me a little." Schuldig said quietly. "I thought that-"

"We avoided it. We've avoided Visions before. This time was no different." Crawford cut him off. He didn't need to have _this_ conversation right now. Not after watching his own death. It was obvious to him that there was something between him and his counterpart, but now definitely wasn't the time to discuss it.

"Last time we avoided a Vision, I had better control over my powers. Every time I use them, they get harder to control." Schuldig replied. "Lately I feel like if I didn't have your mental shields near me, I'd lose myself in my mind. I think about it all the time. It's fucking terrifying."

"You're being dramatic, Schuldig."

"I'm trying to tell you I don't know what I'd do without you and you're brushing me off!"

Crawford sighed. "Do you want me to buy you dinner? Would you like it if I brought you flowers?"

Schuldig gaped. "What the Hell are you saying?"

"This is co-dependency, Schuldig. Not _romance_. Don't confuse the two. We have little to no time for such things."

"I don't want _romance_, Brad!" Schuldig shouted. "I don't need that. I just want to let you know this isn't just 'business' with me. You're not just my psychic babysitter, or my fucking boss. I didn't leave when Farfarello and Nagi did because I _needed_ to stay with you. Not because I need direction, not because I'm after some kind of world where people like us dominate. None of that. I stay here because I can't _not_ be. I fucking _need you_. You hear people say that shit because they hear it in movies. I say it because my sanity rests on it and on you."

Crawford was quiet for a moment. Maybe that's all there was to it then? Had he misunderstood Schuldig's actions over their partnership? He had to at least know this much, since it was apparent they _were_ having _this_ conversation. "Would you still be here if your powers weren't getting out of control?"

"Of course I would, you asshole." Schuldig grabbed Crawford's face and kissed him to prove his point. The dark-haired man returned the kiss slowly, pulling the redhead closer across the armrest. He pushed Schuldig's hair away from his face and let his hand rest behind the German's head, hair still between his fingers. Crawford's tongue stole across Schuldig's bottom lip and the younger man sighed softly, opening his mouth a little. "I need more, Bradley…" Schuldig said, desperately. "Please let me in."

Crawford moved his mouth from Schuldig's and kissed across his cheek, over to his ear, then down his throat. _'Only for a minute.'_ Crawford's thoughts spilled into Schuldig's brain. _'Even if you didn't need me, I'd find a way to __**keep**__ you with me. You're beautiful and wicked. And I know I'll always want you. You're my partner, not my responsibility. I need to you, too. Always, Sebastian.'_ And then his shields were up again. He pulled away and searched Schuldig's face. "That's all you get for today."

Schuldig looked euphoric, his head still swimming with Crawford's thoughts. His blue eyes were almost completely shut, an expression between sated lust and sleepiness slid across his kiss-swollen lips. "Mein Gott…" He sighed in his native tongue. "I feel like I just got laid."

Self-satisfied, Crawford smirked.


End file.
